Closed for the holiday: Falmouth wind turbines

Those opposed to the Falmouth wind turbines have at least one reason to be grateful this week: The selectmen voted to shut off the two town-owned turbines on Thanksgiving.

The 1.65-megawatt turbines at the wastewater treatment plant on Blacksmith Shop Road — known as Wind 1 and Wind 2 — also will shut down on Christmas.

"I applaud the selectmen for doing that," said Malcolm Donald, a turbine abutter and outspoken opponent. "We're going to be thankful for it."

For more than two years, people who live near the turbines have complained of nausea, vertigo and other health problems. The decision to turn off the turbines for the two holidays came at a meeting Monday night when selectmen unanimously approved the measure, introduced by Selectman Kevin Murphy, chairman of the board.

"We thought it would be a time we could build some good will," Murphy said Tuesday.

Selectman Doug Jones noted Christmas is a religious holiday, and questioned whether the board should take a stance. The board ultimately decided to turn off the turbines because many people are home on the holiday.

The action will "give a little relief on the holidays" as well as compensate neighbors for moments over a two-week period when the turbines operated outside the agreed-upon time parameters, Murphy said.

In May, selectmen voted in favor of shutting the turbines down from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day as a compromise between the town and opponents.

But the loss of power after Hurricane Sandy last month and the end of daylight saving time two weeks ago affected the turbines' programming, causing them to spin as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 9:30 p.m., said wastewater Superintendent Gerald Potamis.

This week's gesture does show some good faith, said Barry Funfar, another turbine abutter.

But two days in the year amount to a drop in the bucket for Funfar, who has submitted several nonbinding warrant articles to town meeting petitioning the town to shut off the turbines completely.

"We'll take anything we can get, but I'm still thinking about the other 363 days they're on," Funfar said Tuesday.

"It's a nice gesture, but it's not much."

Turning off the turbines on Thanksgiving will make the day more enjoyable for Donald, who is hosting family at his house for the holiday.

Donald, who has said the turbines cause him headaches among other symptoms, said he believes the decision is an admission from selectmen that the turbines cause health issues.

"I think it's a real acknowledgement among selectmen that this is a real problem," Donald said.

Murphy denied Donald's assertion.

"It couldn't be further from the truth," Murphy said.

"There was no acknowledgement of any effects whatsoever."

The amount of money the town saves in electricity each day depends largely on wind gusts, but Potamis said the town would likely lose money by shutting off the turbines Thanksgiving and Christmas, he said.

"We're losing money because on those two days we'll be running on grid power," Potamis said. But he added that not much would be lost, calling the shutdown "no big deal."